OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION OSHA —LABELING IN THE WORKPLACE

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)—Labeling in the Workplace 

When Congress passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act in 1970, to assure safe and healthful working conditions for working men and women, the Secretary of Labor was given the responsibility for implementing the Act. 

In the Act, the Congress directed the Secretary of Labor to pursue to inform employees to prescribe the use of labels or other appropriate forms of warning (Section 6(b)(7)). Resijonsibility for the implementation of the Act was delegated to the newly-formed Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) under the Department of Labor. OSHA s involvement in the generic approach to insure that employees are apprised of all hazards to which they are exposed (Section 6(b)(7)) and to identify all toxic and hazardous chemicals in the workplace, formally began in 1974. 

The Standards Advisory Committee on Hazardous Materials Labeling was established under section 7(b) of the OSHA Act to develop guidelines for the implementation of section 6(b)(7) of the Act with respect to heizardous materials. On June 6,1975, the Committee submitted its final report which identified issues and recommended guidelines for categorizing and ranking chemical heizards. Labels, material safety data sheets (MSDS), and training programs were also prescribed. 

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) published a criteria document in 1974, which recommended a standard to OSHA. The document entitled A Recommended Standard. .. An Identification System for Occupationally Hazardous Materials, included provisions for labels and material safety data sheets. 

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